God Chose the Weak and the Despised

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV)

Well, before I read this passage of Scripture, the Lord put in my mind a song by the Gaithers titled, “I Am a Promise.” I don’t understand the title, how I would be a promise, but there are some good lyrics in the song which go right along with this passage of Scripture, so I am going to share some of them with you.

You know something?

It doesn't matter what your name is

Where you live, who your dad is

Or how big you are or what you look like

Hey! What do you look like?

Are you short, tall, fat, skinny?

Got holes in your tennis shoes

And freckles on your nose?

It doesn't matter a bit

You can be exactly what God wants you to be

And he has something very special in mind for you

It might be climbing mountains or sailing the sea

Helping sick people get well or singing a song

Whatever it is, you can do it

You can go anywhere

That he wants you to go

You can be anything

That he wants you to be

You can climb the high mountain

You can cross the wide sea

You're a great big promise you see

Again, I don’t understand the part about “I am a promise,” so if you do, feel free to share your thoughts with me on this. For we can only do these things because of what Jesus Christ did for us on that cross, and because we believe in him, and because our lives are surrendered to him to do his will. And then, empowered by God’s Spirit we can be anything God wants us to be because he is the one equipping us to do it. He is the one who supplies us with all the resources we need to do the work to which he has called us, and this is why we have no cause to boast, except in the Lord, because we know it all comes from him and not from our own flesh.

In the video I share a little bit of testimony of how I was never confident in my ability to learn as a child or as an adult, how I graduated high school with a 1.4 GPA, and how I began college reading on a 4th grade level, which is not adequate for college courses. So I never had much confidence in my ability to learn much of anything. And then when I was 52 years old the Lord sent me back to school and I struggled so much with “I can’t do this!” But then I prayed, and the Lord gave me what I needed, and I got all A’s. 

What I learned from that experience, though, was that I could learn in the strength of the Lord. And I needed that for the ministry the Lord called me to two years later, which is my present ministry. For if I had not conquered my fear of not being able to learn, the Lord could not have taught me all that he has taught me these past 20 years. So what I also learned is that God can perform miracles and do amazing things through our lives when we surrender our lives to him and we are willing to be used of him however he wants to use us. So if you are struggling with this subject today, I hope you are encouraged by reading this and/or by watching the video.

God Chose the Weak and the Despised

Video Talk

November 15, 2022

https://youtu.be/23T2reh575E

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